Data migration for applications on a mobile device

ABSTRACT

In various embodiments, a computer-implemented method includes identifying data files in external storage, where the data files correspond to a computer software application (application) on a mobile device. The method may also include sorting the one or more data files into different access levels. The method may also include predicting the sorted one or more data files that will be accessed on the mobile device using a prediction engine. The method may also include locating the predicted one or more data files in the external storage using a migration map. The method may also include determining whether the predicted one or more data files were previously migrated to the external storage from the mobile device. The method may also include migrating the predicted one or more data files from the external storage to the mobile device.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to data migration, and more specificallyto the migration of data between a mobile device and external storage.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a computer-implemented method, system,and computer program product to migrate data files from external storageto a mobile application. The method may include identifying one or moredata files in external storage, where the one or more data filescorrespond to a computer software application (application) on a mobiledevice. The method may also include sorting the one or more data filesinto different access levels, where the access levels designate ahierarchy for the one or more data files. The method may also includepredicting the sorted one or more data files that will be accessed onthe mobile device using a prediction engine. The method may also includelocating, in response to the predicting, the predicted one or more datafiles in the external storage using a migration map. The method may alsoinclude determining whether the predicted one or more data files werepreviously migrated to the external storage from the mobile device. Themethod may also include, in response to determining that the predictedone or more data files were previously migrated to the external storagefrom the mobile device, migrating the predicted one or more data filesfrom the external storage to the mobile device.

The above summary is not intended to describe each illustratedembodiment or every implementation of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings included in the present application are incorporated into,and form part of, the specification. They illustrate embodiments of thepresent disclosure and, along with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the disclosure. The drawings are only illustrative ofcertain embodiments and do not limit the disclosure.

FIG. 1 presents a flowchart, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2 presents a flowchart, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 3 depicts a schematic diagram outlining a computer system,according to various embodiments.

FIG. 4 depicts a schematic diagram outlining a portion of a computersystem.

FIG. 5 depicts a schematic diagram outlining a portion of a computersystem.

FIG. 6 depicts a schematic diagram outlining a portion of a computersystem.

FIG. 7 presents a flowchart, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 8 presents a flowchart, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 9 depicts a schematic diagram outlining interactions in a computerenvironment, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 10 depicts a schematic diagram outlining interactions in a computerenvironment, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 11 depicts a schematic diagram outlining interactions in a computerenvironment, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 12 depicts a schematic diagram outlining interactions in a computerenvironment, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 13 depicts a cloud computing environment, according to variousembodiments.

FIG. 14 depicts abstraction model layers, according to variousembodiments.

FIG. 15 depicts a sample computer system, according to variousembodiments.

While the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternativeforms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in thedrawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood,however, that the intention is not to limit the invention to theparticular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is tocover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe spirit and scope of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to data migration, and more specificallyto migrating data of a mobile application between a mobile device andexternal storage. While the present disclosure is not necessarilylimited to such applications, various aspects of the disclosure may beappreciated through a discussion of various examples using this context.

The present invention provides a computer-implemented method, system,and computer program product to migrate data files from a mobile deviceto external storage and to recall data files from external storage backto the mobile device. Data files may be referred to as data. In recentyears, the technologies and capabilities of mobile devices have steadilyincreased. These technologies and capabilities have resulted in anincrease in the need of storage space. Mobile applications, for example,have increased in recent years. By increasing the amount of mobileapplications on a mobile device, the amount of data stored on the mobiledevice increases, causing a need for additional storage space on themobile device.

Aspects of the present disclosure are directed toward using profiles(hereinafter migration profile(s)) of mobile applications (hereinafterapplication(s)) to assist in migrating data. Migration profiles, asdiscussed herein, assist in the data migration process. Migrationprofiles may contain migration rules, where migration rules outlinespecific conditions and information to assist in determining if and whento migrate data.

By migrating data to external storage, additional storage becomesavailable on the mobile device. Activity on the mobile device may bemonitored, in order to help determine which data needs to be migrated.By monitoring activity, primarily user activity, a computer system candetermine how frequently data files and mobile applications are used onthe mobile device. For example, a user may use a weather applicationonce a day but the same user may use a photograph application an averageof once every hour. Because the weather application is usedsignificantly less than a photograph application on a specific mobiledevice, the data for the weather application may be selected to bemigrated to external storage.

In various embodiments, the data migration is automatic. An automaticmigration allows data to be migrated to external storage without anyuser involvement. For instance, the photograph application may run outof storage space on a mobile device. Instead of a user having to removephotograph data from the mobile device, the photograph data may beautomatically migrated using a computer system. Using automaticmigration allows for storage on a mobile device to be greatly enhancedin a more intelligent way without reducing user experience.

In various embodiments, the data migration is only a partial migration.Instead of having to migrate all data relating to an application, onlyselect data may have to be migrated. For example, using the samephotograph application discussed above, only select photograph data ismigrated to external storage, instead of migrating all photographs(photograph data).

Additional aspects of the present disclosure are directed towards usinga prediction engine to recall data to a mobile device from externalstorage. Once data is migrated from the mobile device to externalstorage, it will eventually be recalled, or migrated from externalstorage back to the mobile device. In various embodiments, this recallmigration is done prior to a user accessing the application and itscorresponding data on the mobile device (pre-fetch recall). Recallingdata before user access allows for a minimal amount of userinconvenience. This pre-fetch recall method is based on data file accesslevels, and user habit prediction result. The recall will be triggeredwhen a computer system detects a migrated file is about to be accessedon the mobile device, and will recall the file before a user's actualaccessing in order to reduce user waiting time and enhance userexperience. This detection is done using a prediction engine. By using aprediction engine, user habit learning and prediction are incorporatedto help improve migration.

In various embodiments, the data migration, or recall, is automatic.This allows for data to be migrated from the mobile device and recalledback to the mobile device without any user involvement.

In various embodiments, both the data migration and recall operate at anoperating system (OS) level, monitoring the storage space of a mobiledevice as well as the occupied space and use frequency of eachapplication.

It is to be understood that although this disclosure includes a detaileddescription on cloud computing, implementation of the teachings recitedherein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g., networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources by may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported, providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure that includes anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a flowchart illustrating a method 100 formigrating data to external storage is depicted, according to variousembodiments. In an embodiment, the method 100 is implemented on acomputer system such as computer system 300. In an embodiment, themethod 100 is implemented on a computer system such as computer system1500. In an embodiment, a computer system is configured to executeoperation 110 to identify one or more computer software applications(hereinafter mobile applications or applications) on a mobile device. Invarious embodiments, examples of mobile devices include cellulartelephones (e.g., smartphones), tablet computers, smartwatches, laptops,personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld gaming consoles, portablemedia players (PMPs), digital cameras, and digital media players (DMPs).In various embodiments, identifying applications includes at leastregistering basic information of an application into a computer system.An application may send its data to a computer system when theapplication is first installed on a mobile device. In variousembodiments, identifying applications includes at least locating anapplication on a mobile device. In an embodiment, a computer system isconfigured to execute operation 120 to generate one or more migrationprofiles for the one or more applications. In various embodiments, eachof the one or more applications corresponds (corresponding application)to a migration profile among the one or more migration profiles and themigration profile includes data about the corresponding application. Invarious embodiments, each of the one or more migration profiles includesa migration rule. In an embodiment, the migration rule includes datadescribing one or more conditions under which the data files of the oneor more applications are able to be migrated. In various embodiments,each migration profile corresponds with an application. In variousembodiments, the migration profile includes data about its correspondingapplication. In an embodiment, a migration profile includes a migrationrule, where the migration rule includes at least data describingconditions under which data files of the one or more applications areable to be migrated. For example, a migration rule may include a value,where the value indicates a quantity of data that once reached triggersa migration of data for the application.

In an embodiment, a migration profile includes a migration level, wherethe migration level helps determine an order of migration for data filesneeding to be migrated. In various embodiments, the migration level isdetermined by its corresponding application. In various embodiments, themigration level is determined by a computer system. In variousembodiments, the migration level is determined by a user of a mobiledevice. The contents of a migration profile are further outlined in FIG.5.

In an embodiment, a computer system is configured to execute operation130 to monitor storage space of the one or more applications on themobile device. In various embodiments, storage space is an amount ofmemory available to data on a mobile device. In an embodiment,monitoring storage space includes identifying data files of the one ormore applications. Identifying data files may include locating the datain a memory of a mobile device. In various embodiments, monitoringstorage space includes communicating with a memory of a mobile device.Communicating with a memory may include identifying data of anapplication in a memory of a mobile device and periodically surveyingthe amount of storage space available to the data and the amount ofstorage space being used by the data of an application. In variousembodiments, monitoring storage space includes updating records of acomputer system. For example, if storage space is monitored and it isdetermined that there is 10 gigabytes (GB) of storage space available todata of a mobile application, the computer system may then update itsrecords to document the current quantity of storage space available.

In various embodiments, monitoring storage space additionally includesmonitoring application activity on a mobile device. Monitoringapplication activity may include monitoring user activity and userfrequency of mobile applications. In various embodiments, applicationactivity determines the order of migration of data files. In anembodiment, application activity is considered when determining amigration level for the migration profile.

In an embodiment, a computer system is configured to execute operation140 to calculate an amount of storage space to determine whether thereis a shortage of the storage space on the mobile device for the datafiles of the one or more applications. A shortage of storage space mayoccur when the amount of memory allocated for data of an application isless than the amount of memory necessary for the data of an application.For example, a mobile application may require 500 megabytes (MB) ofstorage space, but a memory may only have allotted 400 MB of storagespace for the specific application.

In various embodiments, calculating the amount of storage space todetermine whether there is a shortage of storage space includesaccessing a threshold value for each of the one or more applications,calculating, based on the monitoring of the storage space of the one ormore applications, an engaged value for each of the one or moreapplications, and comparing the engaged value with the threshold valuefor each of the one or more applications to determine whether there isthe shortage of the storage space. In various embodiments, the thresholdvalue is included in the migration profile. In various embodiments, thethreshold value is a designated amount of the storage space for thecorresponding application. In various embodiments, the engaged value isan amount of the storage space currently being used, or engaged, by thecorresponding application. In various embodiments, the engaged value canbe calculated by subtracting a free space value from the thresholdvalue, where the free space value is an amount of storage space stillavailable for the corresponding application. In various embodiments, thethreshold value is determined by its corresponding mobile application.In various embodiments, the threshold value is determined by a user of amobile device. In various embodiments, the threshold value is determinedby a computer system.

In various embodiments, calculating the amount of storage space todetermine whether there is a shortage of storage space further includes,determining that the engaged value is greater than the threshold value,indicating that there is the shortage of the storage space, andtransmitting a storage shortage alert to trigger the migration of thedata files of the one or more applications to external storage.Alternatively, in various embodiments, it may be determined that theengaged value is less than the threshold value, indicating that there isnot a shortage of storage space.

For example, a mobile application may be allotted 600 MB of storagespace in a memory. In this example, the threshold value is 600 MB.Continuing the example, the mobile device may currently require, orrequest to use, 500 MB of storage space in a memory. In this example,the engaged value is 500 MB. To determine whether there is a shortage ofstorage space, the threshold value of 600 MB is compared to the engagedvalue of 500 MB. In this example, the engaged value is less than thethreshold value, indicating that there is available storage space,therefore there is not a shortage of storage space.

In another example, a mobile application may again be allotted 600 MB ofstorage space in a memory. Again, like the previous example, thethreshold value is 600 MB. In this example, the mobile device maycurrently require 800 MB of storage space in a memory, therefore theengaged value is 800 MB. Comparing the engaged value to the thresholdvalue, 800 MB to 600 MB respectively, the engaged value is greater thanthe threshold value indicating a shortage of storage space.

In various embodiments, calculating the amount of storage space todetermine whether there is the shortage of the storage space includesaccessing a threshold percentage value for each of the one or moreapplications, calculating, based on the monitoring of the storage spaceof the one or more applications, an engaged percentage value for each ofthe one or more applications, and comparing the engaged percentage valuewith the threshold percentage value for each of the one or moreapplications to determine whether there is the shortage of the storagespace. In an embodiment, the threshold percentage value is included inthe migration profile. In various embodiments, the threshold percentagevalue indicates a designated percentage of the storage space for thecorresponding application. In various embodiments, the engagedpercentage value indicates a percentage of the storage space currentlybeing used, or engaged, by the corresponding application. In variousembodiments, the threshold percentage value is determined by itscorresponding mobile application. In various embodiments, the thresholdpercentage value is determined by a user of a mobile device. In variousembodiments, the threshold percentage value is determined by a computersystem.

In various embodiments, the engaged percentage value may be less thanthe threshold percentage value, indicating that there is not a shortageof storage space. In various embodiments, the engaged percentage valuemay be greater than the threshold percentage value, indicating thatthere is a shortage of storage space. In an embodiment, when it isdetermined that there is a shortage of storage space, a storage shortagealert may be transmitted to trigger the migration of the data files ofthe one or more applications to external storage.

For example, a mobile device may have 8 GB of storage space. A mobileapplication may be allotted, or designated, 2% of the total storagespace of a mobile device. In this example, the threshold percentagevalue is 2%. Continuing this example, a mobile application may require,or request to use, 4% of the total storage space of an application. Theengaged percentage value, in this example, is 4%. Comparing the engagedpercentage value to the threshold percentage value, 4% and 2%respectively, the engaged percentage value is greater than the thresholdpercentage value, indicating a shortage of storage space for thespecific mobile application.

In an embodiment, a computer system is configured to execute operation150 to, in response to calculating that there is a shortage of thestorage space, determine when the data files of the one or moreapplications will be migrated. In various embodiments, determining whenthe data files of the one or more applications will be migrated includesdetermining a time of migration for the data. For example, it may bedetermined that the migration of data may occur at 1:00 AM, as to notdisrupt a user of a mobile device.

In various embodiments, determining when the data files of the one ormore applications will be migrated includes determining a date ofmigration for the data. In various embodiments, the date is a recurringdate. For example, it may be determined that the migration of data mayoccur on the 1^(st) day of every month. In various embodiments, the dateis a one-time date. For example, it may be determined that the migrationof data may occur on Jan. 31, 2017.

In various embodiments, determining when the data files of the one ormore applications will be migrated includes determining a circumstanceof migration for the data. A circumstance may include a batterypercentage of the mobile device, a quantity or size of storage for anapplication, a percentage of storage for an application, an amount ofstorage shortage for an application, a percent of storage shortage foran application, a condition set in the migration profile, or othervarious factors or events.

In an embodiment, a computer system is configured to execute operation160 to, in response to determining when the data files of the one ormore applications will be migrated, migrate the data files of the one ormore applications to external storage. In various embodiments, migratingdata to external storage includes relocating the data from the mobiledevice to external storage. In an embodiment, migrating the data filesof the one or more applications to the external storage includesmigrating the data files from the mobile device to cloud storage. Invarious embodiments, external storage includes at least cloud storage,memory cards, memory sticks, external hard disk drives, compact discs(CDs), and/or flash memory. In various embodiments, a mobile applicationis continuously displayed on a mobile device after the data is migratedto external storage. In this embodiment, application icons may not bedeleted from a mobile device even after a highest level migration.

In various embodiments, migrating the data files of the one or moreapplications to the external storage is an automatic migration.Automatic migration allows for data to be migrated to external storagewithout any user involvement, where a user is a user of a mobile device.In various embodiments, the migrating and the automatic migrationincludes monitoring the one or more applications for satisfaction of theconditions of the migration rule, determining whether the one or moreapplications satisfies the migration rule, and, in response todetermining that the one or more applications satisfies the migrationrule, automatically migrating the data files of the one or moreapplications to the external storage.

In various embodiments, only a portion of the data files of the one ormore applications is migrated. For example, it may have been determinedthat an application has a shortage of storage space and thus thecorresponding data needs to be migrated. In this example, only a partialamount (e.g. 50 MB out of 500 MB) will be migrated to external storage.In various embodiments, a portion of data includes an amount (e.g. size)of data. In various embodiments, a portion of data includes a percentageof data.

In various embodiments, each of the one or more migration profilesincludes a migration level. In various embodiments, the migration levelincludes data to be used to identify the portion of data files tomigrate to the external storage. In an embodiment, the migration levelis determined by the corresponding application. In various embodiments,data is migrated in order of migration level. For example, data may bemigrated starting with level 1, then level 2, then level 3, etc. untilall necessary data has been migrated. Partial migration may only migratea select few migration levels as opposed to all migration levelsassigned to data of an application.

Referring to FIG. 2 a flowchart illustrating a method 200 for recallingdata to a mobile device, when the data has been previously migrated toexternal storage (as displayed in FIG. 1), is depicted, according tovarious embodiments. Method 200 may additionally be referred to aspre-fetch recall herein. In various embodiments, the method 200 isimplemented on a computer system such as computer system 300. The method200 may occur subsequent to the method 100 discussed herein.

In an embodiment, a computer system is configured to execute operation215 to identify one or more data files in external storage. In variousembodiments, the one or more data files correspond to a computersoftware application on a mobile device. Data files may refer to atleast a portion of data that corresponds to an application. In variousembodiments, the one or more data files were previously stored on amobile device. In various embodiments, identifying one or more datafiles in external storage includes at least determining the data filesin external storage that have been previously migrated from a mobiledevice.

In an embodiment, a computer system is configured to execute operation225 to sort the one or more data files into different access levels. Invarious embodiments, access levels designate a hierarchy, or an order,for the one or more data files. For example, level one data files may bemigrated to the mobile device first, before any other data files.

In various embodiments, data files belonging to one application aredivided, or sorted, into access levels based on their organizationhierarchy according to their application type and development invokingrelationship. An organization hierarchy may include the layout andorganization of an application. For example, the data files constructingthe home screen of an application may be marked as level 1, becauselogically and organizationally, the home screen of an application isaccessed before any other portion of an application. Level 1 may containimage files, text files, instruction binary files, and library files. Inthis example, files that can be accessed from any interface in the homescreen may be marked as level 2. The process may repeat until all datafiles for an application are assigned an access level.

In various embodiments, access levels of the one or more data files aredetermined by an access order of the one or more data files for theapplication. An access order may be an order that a user of a mobiledevice accesses data files for an application. In various embodiments,an access order is determined by monitoring user access on a mobiledevice. By monitoring user access, a computer system may determine apattern or routine of a user on the mobile device. For example, aftermonitoring user access it is determined that a user opens a weatherapplication every morning and then, immediately following, a user playsa game on an application. In this example, the access order starts withthe weather application and continues with the game application. Thus,in this example, the data pertaining to the weather application ismigrated to the mobile device first, before the data pertaining to thegame application. In various embodiments, the prediction engine may beused to predict a future access order of a user in order to migrate, orrecall, the data files to the mobile device before a user accesses thespecific application and data files.

In various embodiments, access levels of the one or more data files aredetermined by a directory access order for an operating system (OS).Directory access order is the order the operating system accesses thedata based on the layout of the system. In an embodiment, access levelsdetermined by a directory access order are determined by the computersystem. Data from the application may not be necessary to determine theaccess levels.

In various embodiments, access levels are equivalent to the migrationlevels discussed herein. In this embodiment, when a migration profile isgenerated for an application, a migration/access level is determined andincluded in the migration profile. The migration/access level may bedetermined prior to the migration of data files to external storage. Inthis embodiment, sorting the one or more data files into differentaccess levels includes determining the access levels of the data filesusing the migration profile.

In an embodiment, a computer system is configured to execute operation235 to predict the sorted one or more data files that will be accessedon the mobile device using a prediction engine. In various embodiments,the prediction engine gathers data of usage of the application onto themobile device. The data may include at least one of the following,access frequency of the one or more data files of the application,access peaks of the one or more data files of the application, andaccess dependency of the one or more data files of the application.Access frequency is the frequency in which specific data files are beingaccessed. Access peaks are specific times and conditions (e.g. date,time, location, event) in which one or more data files have the highestamount of access. Access dependency is a dependency relationship betweendata and applications. For example, one interface of one application maycall some interface of another application, thus the two applicationsand their corresponding data are access dependent. In variousembodiments, the prediction engine uses cloud machine learning.

In the beginning, when a mobile device is being used by a user in thefirst prediction cycle time, the prediction engine may have less userdata and may not be able to generate an accurate prediction result. Inthis case, the method 200 may only use the access level of each file toexecute the pre-fetch migration operations. After a prediction cycletime, the prediction engine may gather enough data for user habit andprediction and from then, the prediction engine may use both accesslevels and prediction results to recall, or migrate, the data files.

For example, in the first prediction cycle time a user opens a gameapplication, where the game application has multiple games to choosefrom. In this example, the data files for this game application are thenmigrated on to the mobile device in order of access level. Aftergathering data using the prediction engine, it may be determined that auser always accesses a specific game first, before any other games onthe application. In this example, for the second prediction cycle,because it has been determined that the user opens a specific gamefirst, all the data files for this specific game will be migrated, orrecalled, to the mobile device before any other data files on theapplication.

In an embodiment, a computer system is configured to execute operation245 to locate, in response to the predicting, the predicted one or moredata files in the external storage. Once it has been determined whichdata files are being migrated, these data files are located in externalstorage. In various embodiments, the data files are located using amigration map on the computer system. The contents of a migration mapare further outlined in FIG. 6 herein.

In an embodiment, a computer system is configured to execute operation255 to migrate the predicted one or more data files from the externalstorage to the mobile device. In various embodiments, migrating datafiles includes transferring data files from external storage to a mobiledevice. In various embodiments, the migrating, or recalling, is done inorder of the access levels. In various embodiments, the migrating, orrecalling, is done using the results of the prediction engine. Invarious embodiments, external storage includes at least cloud storage.

In various embodiments, when data files with access level a arecurrently being accessed, the computer system will start to fetch, andmigrate, data files with access level a+1. When data files with accesslevel a+1 are currently being accessed, the computer system may fetch,and migrate, data files with access level a+2. This cycle continuesuntil all data files up to level a+n have been fetched and migrated,where n may range from 0 to any positive integer. In variousembodiments, n is set by its corresponding application. In variousembodiments, n is set by a computer system. In various embodiments, n isset by a user of a mobile device. In various embodiments, n is includedin the migration profile of an application.

For example, a user is currently on a home page of an application,therefore data files with access level 1 are currently being accessed.While the user is on the home page of the application, and accessinglevel 1 data files, level a+1 or level 2 files are being migrated ontothe mobile device. In this example, the variable n has been set by thecomputer system to be 4 (n=4). When n=4, files will continue to bemigrated until level a+n, which in this example is level 5 (1+4).Therefore, in this example, while a user is accessing level a+1 (orlevel 2) files, the level a+2 (or level 3) data files will be fetchedand migrated. When the level 3 files are accessed by a user, level a+3(or level 4) files will be fetched and migrated. Finally, in thisexample, when level 4 files are accessed by a user, level a+4 (or level5) files will be fetched and migrated to the mobile device.

In various embodiments, migrating the predicted one or more data filesfrom external storage to a mobile device is an automatic migration. Asdiscussed herein, automatic migration allows for data to be migrated toexternal storage without any user involvement.

In various embodiments, the migrating comprises migrating the predictedone or more data files from external storage to the mobile device byindividual access levels. In various embodiments, the migratingcomprises migrating the predicted one or more data files from externalstorage to the mobile device by multiple access levels. Data files maybe migrated one access level at a time or data files may be migrated bygroup of access levels. For example, level 2 and 3 data files may bemigrated back to the mobile device at the same time.

In various embodiments, the method 200 further includes determining highpriority files for each of the access levels, predicting the highpriority files that will be accessed on the mobile device using theprediction engine, and migrating the predicted high priority files fromexternal storage to the mobile device. High priority files may behighest priority files selected from the one or more data files sortedinto the access levels. In various embodiments, the migrating of thepredicted one or more data files is subsequent to the migrating of thehigh priority files. In other words, the high priority files may bemigrated before the predicted data files. In various embodiments, highpriority files are determined using the prediction engine.

In various embodiments, high priority files include global high priorityfiles and access level high priority files. Global high priority filesare highest priority files for the mobile device. Access level highpriority files are highest priority files for each of the access levels.Global high priority files may be the data files that a user is mostlikely to access, regardless of access level. Access level high priorityfiles may be the data files that a user is most likely to access on acertain access level. In various embodiments, each access level hasaccess level high priority files.

In various embodiments, global high priority files are migrated fromexternal storage to the mobile device, and then access level highpriority files are migrated from external storage to the mobile device.In other words, the global high priority files may be migrated, orrecalled, to the mobile device first, before the access level highpriority files. When migrating the access level high priority files, themigrating may be done in order of the access levels. In variousembodiments, for each of the access levels, the migrating of thepredicted data files is subsequent to the migrating of the access levelhigh priority files. The order of migration may be global high priorityfiles, access level high priority files, then access level data files.As disclosed herein, the access level high priority files and the accesslevel data files are migrated in order of access level. For example,when migrating data files for a specific application, all global highpriority are migrated, regardless of access level. Then, the accesslevel high priority files are migrated for level 1, followed by theaccess level data files for level 1. Once all level 1 files aremigrated, in this example, the access level high priority files aremigrated for level 2, followed by the access level data files for level2. This order may continue until all necessary data files are migrated.

After training the prediction engine, when a user opens an applicationhome screen, the computer system may query the prediction engine, andthe prediction engine may use its trained model to predict which filesof a specific application a user is most likely to access, both from aglobal scope and specific to each access level. The global high priorityfiles may be migrated and then the computer system may continue theother recall according to files' access level and access level highpriority.

Referring to FIG. 3, system 300 includes a computer system for migratingand recalling data, according to various embodiments. System 300 is onlyone possible computer system capable of migrating and recalling data.

In various embodiments, computer system 300 includes a migration daemon310 to manage computer software application(s) (applications) or mobileapplication(s) 350 on a mobile device and migrate applications 350 to anexternal storage 330. In various embodiments, migration daemon 310 is ona mobile device. In various embodiments, in order to work with migrationdaemon 310, application(s) 350 implement a migration interface. Invarious embodiments, migration daemon 310 includes an applicationcontroller 312, a device storage monitor 314, a trigger agent 316, and apackage handler 318. In various embodiments, computer system 300 alsoincludes external storage 330, operating system 340, and application(s)350. In various embodiments computer system 300 includes one or morecomputer processors, where the one or more computer processors includemigration daemon 310 for managing one or more applications on a mobiledevice. Although the computer system 300 is depicted herein with certainelements and implementations, the computer system 300 is not limited tothese elements and implementations.

In an embodiment, application controller 312 identifies one or moreapplications 350 on a mobile device. In various embodiments, applicationcontroller 312 also generates one or more migration profiles for the oneor more applications 350, where each of the one or more applications 350corresponds (corresponding application) to a migration profile among theone or more migration profiles and where the migration profile includesdata about the corresponding application. The application controller 312may play a key role in uniting applications 350 with migration daemon310. When a new application 350 is first installed on a mobile device,application 350 may register its basic info along with migration rulesinto application controller 312. In various embodiments, applicationcontroller 312 performs space and use frequency inspection of eachapplication 350 requested by the trigger agent 316 and receivesnotifications from the trigger agent 316 when an application is selectedto be migrated. Application controller 312 may also pass migrationinformation to its corresponding application 350. In variousembodiments, application controller 312 delivers different data, or datapackages, sent by applications 350 and passes them to package handler318.

In an embodiment, device storage monitor 314 monitors storage space ofthe one or more applications 350 on the mobile device, where themonitoring includes identifying data files of the one or moreapplications 350. In various embodiments, device storage monitor 314calculates an amount of storage space to determine whether there is ashortage of the storage space on the mobile device for the data files ofthe one or more applications 350. In various embodiments, the devicestorage monitor 314 also accesses a threshold value for each of the oneor more applications 350, calculates, based on the monitoring of thestorage space of the one or more applications 350, an engaged value foreach of the one or more applications 350, and compares the engaged valuewith the threshold value for each of the one or more applications 350 todetermine whether there is the shortage of the storage space. In variousembodiments, the threshold value is a designated amount of the storagespace for the corresponding application. In an embodiment, the thresholdvalue is included in the migration profile. In various embodiments, theengaged value is an amount of the storage space currently being used bythe corresponding application.

In various embodiments, the device storage monitor 314 also accesses athreshold percentage value for each of the one or more applications 350,calculates, based on the monitoring of the storage space of the one ormore applications 350, an engaged percentage value for each of the oneor more applications 350, and compares the engaged percentage value withthe threshold percentage value for each of the one or more applications350 to determine whether there is the shortage of the storage space. Invarious embodiments, the threshold percentage value indicates adesignated percentage of storage space for the correspondingapplication. In an embodiment, the threshold percentage value isincluded in the migration profile. In various embodiments, the engagedpercentage value indicates a percentage of the storage space currentlybeing used by the corresponding application.

In various embodiments, the device storage monitor 314 monitors storagespace of a mobile device periodically. The device storage monitor 314may communicate with a memory, or native memory API, served by anoperating system 340. In various embodiments, when it has beendetermined that there is a shortage of storage space, the device storagemonitor 314 transmits a storage shortage alert to the trigger agent 316.

In an embodiment, a trigger agent 316, in response to calculating thatthere is the shortage of storage space, determines when the data of theone or more applications 350 will be migrated. In various embodiments,trigger agent 316 listens to the disk or memory storage shortage alertsent by the device storage monitor 314 and triggers a space and usefrequency inspection of each application automatically and periodicallyfrom the application controller 312. The trigger agent 316 may alsodecide when and which data needs to migrate based on the input from boththe device storage monitor 314 and application controller 312, and thennotifies application controller 312 about the chosen data.

In an embodiment, a package handler 318, in response to determining whenthe data files of the one or more applications will be migrated,migrates the data files of the one or more applications 350 to externalstorage 330. In various embodiments, package handler 318 migrates thedata files of the one or more applications 350 to external storage 330as an automatic migration. In various embodiments, a package handler 318migrates data files from external storage 330 to a mobile device. Invarious embodiments, a package handler 318 is the middleware to migrateapplication data to external storage 330, or recall application databack to a mobile device from external storage 330. The package handler318 may receive migration file lists of each application 350 from theapplication controller 312. After receiving the list, the packagehandler 318 may maintain a package location database to record anallocation map (migration map) between the application data and externalstorage 330. A migration map is further outlined in FIG. 6. The contentsof a package handler 318 are further outlined in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 4, system 400 includes a portion of a computer systemoutlining the components of package handler 318. In various embodiments,package handler 318 includes a data file monitoring module 405, anaccess level module 410, a prediction module 415, a location module 420,and a migration module 425. Although the package handler 318 is depictedherein with certain elements and implementations, the package handler318 is not limited to these elements and implementations. In variousembodiments, the data file monitoring module 405 identifies one or moredata files in external storage. In an embodiment, the access levelmodule 410 sorts the one or more data files into different accesslevels. In various embodiments, the prediction module 415 predicts thesorted one or more data files that will be accessed on the mobile deviceusing a prediction engine, where the prediction module 415 includes theprediction engine. In various embodiments, the location module 420locates, in response to the predicting, the predicted one or more datafiles in the external storage. In various embodiments, the migrationmodule 425 migrates, or recalls, the predicted one or more data filesfrom the external storage to the mobile device.

In an embodiment, the package handler 318 may further include a highpriority file module. In various embodiments, the high priority filemodule determines high priority files for each of the access levels,where the high priority files are highest priority files selected fromthe one or more data files sorted into access levels. In variousembodiments, the prediction module 415 also predicts the high priorityfiles that will be accessed on the mobile device using the predictionengine. The migration module 425 may also migrate the predicted highpriority files from the external storage to the mobile device.

In various embodiments, the high priority files include global highpriority files and access level high priority files. In variousembodiments, when the migration module 425 migrates the predicted one ormore data files, the migration module 425 also migrates the global highpriority files from external storage to the mobile device, and migratesthe access level high priority files from the external storage to themobile device.

Referring to FIG. 5, a system 500 outlining a migration profile 510, isdepicted, according to various embodiments. Although the migrationprofile 510 is depicted herein with certain elements andimplementations, the migration profile 510 is not limited to theseelements and implementations. In various embodiments, the applicationcontroller (depicted in FIG. 3) maintains a migration profile for eachapplication. In the migration profile 510 each application 512, 522,532, 542 has a corresponding migration rule 514, 524, 534, 544. Themigration rule 514, 524, 534, 544 defines the migration attributes ofthe corresponding application 512, 522, 532, 542. FIG. 5 depicts amigration rule 1 514 corresponding to an application 1 512 in migrationprofile 510.

In various embodiments, the migration rule 514, 524, 534, 544 includesat least days no-use, manual or automatic migration, migration priority,migration level, migration threshold percentage value, and migrationthreshold value. In various embodiments, the migration rule 514, 524,534, 544 includes either a threshold percentage value or a thresholdvalue. In various embodiments, days no-use is the number of days theapplication has not been used. In various embodiments, manual or automigration is whether data migration is controlled manually (by a user ofa mobile device) or automatically (by a migration daemon in a computersystem). In various embodiments, migration priority is the application's512, 522, 532, 542, and its corresponding data's, migration priority. Invarious embodiments, migration level is the application's migrationlevel, which indicates which level of its data files are about to bemigrated. In various embodiments, a migration rule includes more thanone migration level. In various embodiments, migration thresholdpercentage value is the threshold percentage value for the correspondingapplication 512, 522, 532, 542. In various embodiments, migrationthreshold value is the threshold value for the corresponding application512, 522, 532, 542.

Referring to FIG. 6, an outline of a migration map 610 is depicted,according to various embodiments. In various embodiments, after data forone or more applications has been migrated to external storage, thepackage handler (FIG. 3) will generate a migration map 610 for the datawhich was migrated. The package handler may also send the migration tomap 610 to the corresponding application and save the migration map 610in a package location database within the package handler. In variousembodiments, each application maintains its own migration map 610. Asdepicted in FIG. 6, a migration map 610 may contain mapping data of eachmigrated file. In various embodiments, mapping data includes a migrationflag identifying if the data file has been migrated, a location of thedata file, and days no-use identifying the number of days the file hasnot been used.

Referring to FIG. 7, a flowchart outlining a method 700 of migratingdata files to external storage is depicted, according to variousembodiments. In an embodiment, the method 700 is implemented as acomputer script or computer program to be executed on a computer systemsuch as computer system 300. The method 700 is only one example ofmigrating data files to external storage.

In an embodiment, a computer system is configured to execute operation710 to start a migration check. In various embodiments, a migrationcheck is conducted to ensure that migration rules and various conditionsare met before migrating the data. In an embodiment, a computer systemis configured to execute operation 715 to determine if automaticmigration conditions are met. In various embodiments, automaticmigration conditions determine whether data is able to be migratedautomatically. In various embodiments, automatic migration conditionsinclude WIFI network connection and a migration time window, where amigration time window is a time range that it is acceptable to migratedata.

In operation 720, the automatic migration conditions are met, thereforethe migration will be an automatic migration. In operation 725, once itis determined that the migration will be an automatic migration, themigration rule(s) are reviewed. Reviewing the migration rules determineswhether the data is eligible for migration, when the migration isinstigated by a computer system. In operation 730, it is determinedwhether the current conditions of the data satisfy the migrationrule(s). When the current conditions do not satisfy the migrationrule(s) the migration rules are again reviewed, as shown in operation725. When the current conditions satisfy the migration rule(s), themethod 700 may proceed to operation 740.

In operation 735, the automatic migration conditions are not met,therefore it is determined that the migration will be a manualmigration. In various embodiments, a manual migration is instigated by auser of a mobile device. Once it is determined that there will be amanual migration, the method 700 may proceed to operation 740.

In operation 740, migration files (data files) are selected according tothe corresponding migration profiles. As discussed herein, migrationprofiles contain migration rules for various applications. The migrationprofile outlines which data files are best suited for migration. Invarious embodiments, when the migration is manual migration, a user mayoverride the migration profile and data files may be migrated toexternal storage.

In operation 745, the migration files selected in operation 740 ismigrated to external storage. In various embodiments, the migration is amanual migration. In various embodiments, the migration is an automaticmigration. In various embodiments, operation 745 corresponds withoperation 160 of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 8, a flowchart outlining a method 800 of migrating, orrecalling, data files back to a mobile device is depicted, according tovarious embodiments. In an embodiment, the method 800 is implemented asa computer script or computer program to be executed on a computersystem such as computer system 300. The method 800 is only one exampleof recalling data files to a mobile device.

In an embodiment, a computer system is configured to execute operation810 to start locating a file in external storage. In variousembodiments, operation 810 corresponds with operation 245 in FIG. 2. Invarious embodiments, locating a file in external storage is done usingthe migration map 610.

In operation 820, once the file (data file) is located in externalstorage, it is determined whether the file had been previously migratedto external storage from a mobile device. In various embodiments, thepackage handler 318 is used to determine whether the file had beenpreviously migrated. In various embodiments, it is determined that thefile was not previously migrated to external storage from a mobiledevice, and the method 800 may proceed to operation 850. In variousembodiments, it is determined that the file was previously migrated toexternal storage from a mobile device. Once this has been determined,the method may proceed to operation 830.

In operation 830, the migration map is checked, by the package handler318, to identify the file location. In various embodiments, identifyingthe file location includes identifying the migration location of thedata file on the mobile device. In operation 840, after the filelocation has been identified, the file is migrated, or recalled, back tothe mobile device. In various embodiments, operation 840 correspondswith operation 255 in FIG. 2.

In operation 840, the file information in the migration map is accessedand updated with the current location of the data file. In variousembodiments, the accessing and updating is done by the package handler318.

Referring to FIG. 9, a schematic diagram 900 is depicted outlining theinteraction between a migration daemon 910 and an application 950 whenan application 950 does not support automatic migration, according tovarious embodiments. In various embodiments, in order to work withmigration daemon 910 and to support automatic migration, the application950 implements a migration interface. In various embodiments, whenapplication 950 implements the migration interface, application 950 thensupports automatic migration. In various embodiments, application 950did not implement the migration interface, therefore application 950does not support automatic migration. In various embodiments, migrationdaemon 910 corresponds with migration daemon 310 in FIG. 3. In variousembodiments, application 950 corresponds with mobile application(s) 350in FIG. 3.

In various embodiments, when application 950 does not support automaticmigration, all responsibilities and tasks fall to the migration daemon910. In operation 915, the migration daemon 910 monitors the applicationand storage space. In operation 920, it is determined that the migrationrules are met by the current conditions of the data. In variousembodiments, operation 920 corresponds with operations 720 and 725 inFIG. 7. In operation 925, once the migration rules are met, a migrationpackage is generated. In various embodiments a migration packageincludes the data files about to be migrated. In operation 930, the datafiles or migration package are migrated to external storage. Inoperation 935, once the data files are migrated to external storage, thepackage location database, in the package handler, is maintained. Invarious embodiments, maintaining the package location database includesupdating the migration map for the corresponding application and datafiles with the current location of the data files. In variousembodiments, when applications do not support automatic migration, theoperations happen only on the migration daemon 910 and are transparent(not visible) to the application 950.

Referring to FIG. 10, a schematic diagram 1000 is depicted outlining theinteraction between a migration daemon 1010 and an application 1050 whenapplication 1050 does support automatic migration, according to variousembodiments. In various embodiments, migration daemon 1010 correspondswith migration daemon 310 in FIG. 3. In various embodiments, application1050 corresponds with mobile application(s) 350 depicted in FIG. 3.

In various embodiments, when application 1050 supports automaticmigration, responsibilities and tasks are split between the migrationdaemon 1010 and the application 1050. When application 1050 is firstinstalled on a mobile device, the application is installed and thenregistered with the migration daemon 1010. Data is then returned to theapplication 1050. In operation 1015, once application 1050 is registeredwith the migration daemon 1010, the application and storage space aremonitored by the migration daemon 1010. In operation 1020, it isdetermined that the migration rules are met by the current conditions ofthe data. In various embodiments, the migration daemon 1010 will notifythe application 1050 of its migration level. In operation 1025, theapplication 1050 will then generate a migration package. In variousembodiments, the migration package includes the data files to bemigrated. The data files (migration package) may then be returned to themigration daemon 1010. In operation 1030, the data files are migrated toexternal storage. In operation 1035, one the data files are migrated,the migration daemon maintains the package location database in thepackage handler. In various embodiments, when applications supportautomatic migration, operations occur on both the migration daemon 1010and the application 1050, and communication is continuous between themigration daemon 1010 and the application 1050.

Referring to FIG. 11, a schematic diagram 1100 is depicted outlining theinteraction between a migration daemon 1110 and an application 1150 whenapplication 1150 does not support pre-fetch recall, according to variousembodiments. In various embodiments, application 1150 did not implementthe migration interface, therefore application 1150 does not supportpre-fetch recall. In various embodiments, migration daemon 1110corresponds with migration daemon 310 in FIG. 3. In various embodiments,application 1150 corresponds with mobile application(s) 350 depicted inFIG. 3.

In various embodiments, when application 1150 does not support pre-fetchrecall, all responsibilities and tasks fall to the migration daemon1110. In operation 1155, the migration daemon sorts data files intoaccess levels. In operation 1160, once the data files are sorted, thehigh priority files are marked. In operation 1165, the applications aremonitored to predict which data files and applications will be accessedon a mobile device. In operation 1170, the application data accessconditions are predicted. In various embodiments, access conditionsinclude a time or circumstance when a user is most likely to access theapplication data. In operation 1175 it is determined that accessconditions are met and in operation 1180, the files are migrated, orrecalled, to a mobile device. In various embodiments, access conditionsmay include migration rules corresponding to the data files. Inoperation 1185, the migration package location database is maintained bythe migration daemon 1110. In various embodiments, when applications donot support pre-fetch recall, the operations happen only one themigration daemon 1110 and are transparent to the application 1150.

Referring to FIG. 12, a schematic diagram 1200 is depicted outlining theinteraction between a migration daemon 1210 and an application 1250 whenapplication 1250 does support pre-fetch recall, according to variousembodiments. In various embodiments, application 1250 implemented amigration interface, therefore application 1250 supports pre-fetchrecall. In various embodiments, migration daemon 1210 corresponds withmigration daemon 310 in FIG. 3. In various embodiments, application 1250corresponds with mobile application(s) 350 in FIG. 3.

In various embodiments, when application 1250 supports pre-fetch recall,responsibilities and tasks are split between the migration daemon 1210and the application 1250. In operation 1255, the application 1250 sortsdata files into access levels. The application 1250 may then notify themigration daemon 1210 of the sorted access levels. In operation 1260,the migration daemon 1210 then marks high priority files. In operation1265, the applications are monitored to predict which data files andapplications will be accessed on a mobile device. In operation 1270 itis predicted which application data is most likely to be accessed usingthe prediction engine. In various embodiments, the prediction enginedetermines an order of access for the data. The migration daemon 1210and the application 1250 may exchange results and data. In operation1280, the predicted data files are migrated back to the mobile device.In operation 1285, the migration package location database is maintainedby the migration daemon 1210. In various embodiments, when applicationssupport pre-fetch recall, operations occur on both the migration daemon1210 and the application 1250, and communication is continuous betweenthe migration daemon 1210 and the application 1250.

Referring now to FIG. 13, illustrative cloud computing environment 1300is depicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 50 includes one ormore cloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used bycloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 54A-N shownin FIG. 13 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type ofcomputerized device over any type of network and/or network addressableconnection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 14, a set of functional abstraction layersprovided by cloud computing environment 50 (FIG. 13) is shown. It shouldbe understood in advance that the components, layers, and functionsshown in FIG. 14 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments ofthe invention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layersand corresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes 61; RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 62;servers 63; blade servers 64; storage devices 65; and networks andnetworking components 66. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 67 and database software 68.

Virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers71; virtual storage 72; virtual networks 73, including virtual privatenetworks; virtual applications and operating systems 74; and virtualclients 75.

In one example, management layer 80 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning 81 provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 82provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may include applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 84provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 85 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 91; software development and lifecycle management 92; virtualclassroom education delivery 93; data analytics processing 94;transaction processing 95; and data migration processing 96.

FIG. 15 shows an exemplary embodiment of a computer system, computersystem 1500. Computer system 1500 is only one example of a computersystem and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope ofuse or functionality of embodiments of the present invention.Regardless, computer system 1500 is capable of being implemented toperform and/or performing any of the functionality/operations of thepresent invention.

Computer system 1500 includes a computer system/server 1502, which isoperational with numerous other general purpose or special purposecomputing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-knowncomputing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may besuitable for use with computer system/server 1502 include, but are notlimited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thinclients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices (including mobiledevices), multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set topboxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputersystems, mainframe computer systems, and distributed cloud computingenvironments that include any of the above systems or devices, and thelike.

Computer system/server 1502 may be described in the general context ofcomputer system-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer system. Generally, program modules may includeroutines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and soon that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. Computer system/server 1502 may be practiced in distributed cloudcomputing environments where tasks are performed by remote processingdevices that are linked through a communications network. In adistributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be locatedin both local and remote computer system storage media including memorystorage devices.

As shown in FIG. 15, computer system/server 1502 in computer system 1500is shown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. Thecomponents of computer system/server 1502 may include, but are notlimited to, one or more processors or processing units 1510, a systemmemory 1560, and a bus 1515 that couple various system componentsincluding system memory 1560 to processor 1510.

Bus 1515 represents one or more of any of several types of busstructures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheralbus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus usingany of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and notlimitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture(ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA)bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, andPeripheral Component Interconnects (PCI) bus.

Computer system/server 1502 typically includes a variety of computersystem readable media. Such media may be any available media that isaccessible by computer system/server 1502, and it includes both volatileand non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.

System memory 1560 can include computer system readable media in theform of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 1562 and/orcache memory 1564. Computer system/server 1502 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage system 1566 can be provided forreading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media(not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided.In such instances, each can be connected to bus 1515 by one or more datamedia interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,memory 1560 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g.,at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out thefunctions of embodiments of the invention.

Program/utility 1568, having a set (at least one) of program modules1569, may be stored in memory 1560 by way of example, and notlimitation, as well as an operating system, one or more applicationprograms, other program modules, and program data. Each of the operatingsystem, one or more application programs, other program modules, andprogram data or some combination thereof, may include an implementationof a networking environment. Program modules 1569 generally carry outthe functions and/or methodologies of embodiments of the invention asdescribed herein.

Computer system/server 1502 may also communicate with one or moreexternal devices 1530 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display1540, etc.; one or more devices that enable a user to interact withcomputer system/server 1502; and/or any devices (e.g., network card,modem, etc.) that enable computer system/server 1502 to communicate withone or more other computing devices. Such communication can occur viaInput/Output (I/O) interfaces 1520. Still yet, computer system/server1502 can communicate with one or more networks such as a local areanetwork (LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or a publicnetwork (e.g., the Internet) via network adapter 1550. As depicted,network adapter 1550 communicates with the other components of computersystem/server 1502 via bus 1515. It should be understood that althoughnot shown, other hardware and/or software components could be used inconjunction with computer system/server 1502. Examples, include, but arenot limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units,external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data archivalstorage systems, etc.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product at any possible technical detail level of integration.The computer program product may include a computer readable storagemedium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereonfor causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a staticrandom access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory(CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk,a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structuresin a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitablecombination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, asused herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se,such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves,electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or othertransmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-opticcable), or electronic signals transmitted through a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, oreither source code or object code written in any combination of one ormore programming languages, including an object orientated programlanguage such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The computer readable program instructions may executeentirely one the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including,for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gatearrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute thecomputer readable program instructions by utilizing state information ofthe computer readable program instructions to personalize the electroniccircuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks. The computer readable program instructions may also be loadedonto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or otherdevice to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce acomputer implemented process, such that the instructions which executeon the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implementthe functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present disclosurehave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:identifying one or more data files in external storage, wherein the oneor more data files correspond to a computer software application on amobile device; sorting the one or more data files into different accesslevels, wherein the access levels designate a hierarchy for the one ormore data files; predicting the sorted one or more data files that areconfigured to be accessed on the mobile device using a predictionengine; locating, in response to the predicting, the predicted one ormore data files in the external storage using a migration map;determining whether the predicted one or more data files were previouslymigrated to the external storage from the mobile device; and in responseto determining that the predicted one or more data files were previouslymigrated to the external storage from the mobile device, migrating thepredicted one or more data files from the external storage to the mobiledevice.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: in response todetermining that the predicted one or more data files were previouslymigrated to the external storage from the mobile device, checking themigration map to identify migration locations of the predicted one ormore data files; and in response to migrating the predicted one or moredata files, updating file information for each of the predicted one ormore data files with a current location of the predicted one or moredata files.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein migrating the predictedone or more data files from the external storage to the mobile device isan automatic migration.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:determining high priority files for each of the access levels, whereinthe high priority files are highest priority files selected from the oneor more data files sorted into the access levels; predicting the highpriority files that are configured to be accessed on the mobile deviceusing the prediction engine; and migrating the predicted high priorityfiles from the external storage to the mobile device, wherein themigrating of the predicted one or more data files is subsequent to themigrating of the high priority files.
 5. The method of claim 4, whereinthe high priority files include global high priority files and accesslevel high priority files.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the globalhigh priority files are highest priority files for the mobile device,and wherein the access level high priority files are highest priorityfiles for each of the access levels.
 7. The method of claim 6, furthercomprising: migrating the global high priority files from the externalstorage to the mobile device; and migrating the access level highpriority files from the external storage to the mobile device, whereinthe migrating is done in order of the access levels and wherein, foreach of the access levels, the migrating of the predicted one or moredata files is subsequent to the migrating of the access level highpriority files.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the access levels ofthe one or more data files are determined by an access order of the oneor more data files for the application.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein the access levels of the one or more data files are determinedby a directory access order for an Operating System.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the prediction engine gathers data of usage of theapplication on the mobile device and wherein the data includes at leastone of access frequency of the one or more data files of theapplication, access peaks of the one or more data files of theapplication, and access dependency of the one or more data files of theapplication.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the migrating comprisesmigrating the predicted one or more data files from the external storageto the mobile device by individual access levels.
 12. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the migrating comprises migrating the predicted one ormore data files from the external storage to the mobile device bymultiple access levels.
 13. A system having one or more computerprocessors comprising a package handler for migrating data files to amobile device, the package handler configured to: identify one or moredata files in external storage, wherein the one or more data filescorrespond to a computer software application on a mobile device; sortthe one or more data files into different access levels, wherein theaccess levels designate a hierarchy for the one or more data files;predict the sorted one or more data files that are configured to beaccessed on the mobile device using a prediction engine; locate, inresponse to the predicting, the predicted one or more data files in theexternal storage using a migration map; determine whether the predictedone or more data files were previously migrated to the external storagefrom the mobile device; and in response to determining that thepredicted one or more data files were previously migrated to theexternal storage from the mobile device, migrate the predicted one ormore data files from the external storage to the mobile device.
 14. Thesystem of claim 13, further configured to: in response to determiningthat the predicted one or more data files were previously migrated tothe external storage from the mobile device, check the migration map toidentify migration locations of the predicted one or more data files;and in response to migrating the predicted one or more data files,update file information for each of the predicted one or more data fileswith a current location of the predicted one or more data files.
 15. Thesystem of claim 13, further configured to: determine high priority filesfor each of the access levels, wherein the high priority files arehighest priority files selected from the one or more data files sortedinto the access levels; predict the high priority files that areconfigured to be accessed on the mobile device using the predictionengine; and migrate the predicted high priority files from the externalstorage to the mobile device, wherein the migrating of the predicted oneor more data files is subsequent to the migrating of the high priorityfiles.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the high priority filesinclude global high priority files and access level high priority files.17. The system of claim 16, wherein, when the migration module migratesthe predicted one or more data files, the migration module: migrates theglobal high priority files from the external storage to the mobiledevice; and migrates the access level high priority files from theexternal storage to the mobile device, wherein the migrating is done inorder of the access levels and wherein, for each of the access levels,the migrating of the predicted one or more data files is subsequent tothe migrating of the access level high priority files.
 18. A computerprogram product comprising a computer readable storage medium havingprogram instructions embodied therewith, the program instructionsexecutable by a processor to cause the processor to: identify one ormore data files in external storage, wherein the one or more data filescorrespond to a computer software application on a mobile device; sortthe one or more data files into different access levels, wherein theaccess levels designate a hierarchy for the one or more data files;predict the sorted one or more data files that are configured to beaccessed on the mobile device using a prediction engine; locate, inresponse to the predicting, the predicted one or more data files in theexternal storage using a migration map; determine whether the predictedone or more data files were previously migrated to the external storagefrom the mobile device; and in response to determining that thepredicted one or more data files were previously migrated to theexternal storage from the mobile device, migrate the predicted one ormore data files from the external storage to the mobile device.
 19. Thecomputer program product of claim 18, wherein the program instructionsexecutable by the processor further cause the processor to: in responseto determining that the predicted one or more data files were previouslymigrated to the external storage from the mobile device, check themigration map to identify migration locations of the predicted one ormore data files; and in response to migrating the predicted one or moredata files, update file information for each of the predicted one ormore data files with a current location of the predicted one or moredata files.
 20. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein theprogram instructions executable by the processor further cause theprocessor to: determine high priority files for each of the accesslevels, wherein the high priority files are highest priority filesselected from the one or more data files sorted into the access levels;predict the high priority files that are configured to be accessed onthe mobile device using the prediction engine; and migrate the predictedhigh priority files from the external storage to the mobile device,wherein the migrating of the predicted one or more data files issubsequent to the migrating of the high priority files.